Just wanted to bounce some ideas off of anyone who is experienced with long jumping. I have long jumped since I was a freshman in high school. When I was 15 and 16 I had a very natural hitch kick. I took one year off from track and somehow lost it. Since then I have been a hang style jumper (I am 26 now). Everything I have read says that the style used during flight has no bearing on the distance of flight but is only to counter forward rotation and prepare for landing.
This being said, is the flight style chosen based solely on what the individual is most comfortable doing. It seems to me that no “big time” jumpers use the hang. Beamon used the “stride” or “sail” technique and Lewis and Powell were hitch kickers.
I am currently a 7 meter long jumper and still use the hang. If I could implement an effective hitch kick would you think that I could add distance.
Another thing I have noticed with modern long jumpers is the collapse of one leg upon landing which causes the athlete to fall to the side. What is the purpose?
It really doesn’t matter. Stick with what’s most natural to you. Most speed guys will do some form of the hitch but Emmiyan, Moffitt, and many others were successful with the hang. I don’t think you’ll add much distance using the hitch unless it indirectly improves your takeoff efficiency. Falling to the side is just generally a less stressful landing. You can land any way you want to as long as you can get your butt to or past the hole that your feet made.
Well this might not be what your problem is but i’ll throw it out there anyway because some of my jumpers have this problem. If your falling forward after you land, you might not be getting the most out of your jump. I don’t know exactly how you land but if you are getting thrown after you land try holding your jump for a split second longer in order to just land and sort of stick there. I might not have done an excellent job explaining this but hopefully you can understand it.